Apple asks outside developers for iPhone apps

Published 4:00 am, Friday, March 7, 2008

Photo: Kurt Rogers

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Steve Jobs announced today at Apple Headquarters in Cupertino CA. that they would have new software for the I Phone. The Software will allow outside developers to create programs for the I Phone. On Thursday March 6, 2008
Photo By Kurt Rogers / San Francisco Chronicle less

Steve Jobs announced today at Apple Headquarters in Cupertino CA. that they would have new software for the I Phone. The Software will allow outside developers to create programs for the I Phone. On Thursday ... more

Photo: Kurt Rogers

Apple asks outside developers for iPhone apps

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Come June, consumers will be able to do much more with their iPhone and their iPod Touch.

They will be able to play new games that take advantage of the device's touch-screen and motion-sensing capabilities. If they're business users, they will be able to receive work e-mails automatically and have their cell phone wiped remotely if it's lost or stolen.

At a media event Thursday at its Cupertino headquarters, Apple Inc. handed outside developers the tools to create applications for the iPhone, a much-anticipated move that could make the iPhone more popular than ever. Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers also announced a $100 million iFund to foster the new iPhone developer platform and encourage independent developers and entrepreneurs to build new programs for the iPhone.

"It's going to make the iPhone twice as useful," said Damien Stolarz, a software developer and co-author of "iPhone Hacks." "You've got thousands of new reasons to buy the iPhone."

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Making the leap into the corporate market, Apple also said the iPhone will be able to connect to Microsoft Exchange, meaning customers who use the smart phone for business will be able to receive work e-mails, tap into their work calendar and incorporate corporate security measures. The announcement comes as the Cupertino technology company seeks to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of the year.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that the iPhone, introduced less than a year ago, already holds 28 percent of the smart phone market share, behind Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, which is No. 1 with 41 percent. And by challenging the BlackBerry for its core audience, corporate users, Apple could stand to extend the iPhone's reach even further.

"They answered every objection enterprises have for deploying" the iPhone, said Van Baker, an analyst with research firm Gartner. "This gets them in the game."

Since the iPhone's launch last year, AT&T, the iPhone's exclusive U.S. carrier, has been "consistently fielding calls from enterprise customers," said AT&T spokesman John Britton. "We know there's a lot of interest."

Both the corporate developments and third-party applications will be available in June in a software update. It will be free for iPhone customers but will cost an undisclosed fee for iPod Touch owners.

Apple offered a peek at the sort of new applications consumers could start seeing in June. Redwood City's Electronic Arts demonstrated a mobile take on its upcoming game Spore, created by Will Wright, originator of the Sims. Players can maneuver through the game by tilting the iPhone back and forth. To change the appearance of their character, they can use their fingers to play with the character's features.

Consumers will be able to download the programs through iTunes or through a new App Store, managed by Apple and incorporated on all iPhones.

Apple said it will have safeguards in place to protect consumers from downloading corrupt and inappropriate applications, such as those that invade a consumer's privacy or use too much bandwidth. Developers who want to offer iPhone programs must pay $99 a year to register and participate. If they design unacceptable programs, "we can track them down and tell their parents," Jobs said.

Apple will also be able to control the downloading of applications, allowing the company to "turn off the spigot" if they discover a problem program, Jobs added.

"We put a lot of thought into it," he said. "We think it's a real problem."

The creation of the applications is made possible through a software developer's kit, which gives non-Apple developers the tools to tap into the iPhone's capabilities and design programs. Apple released it in beta to developers on Thursday.

Apple will share revenues from all applications sold, keeping 30 percent and giving the rest to the developers. It will not charge developers to offer free applications to users. Jobs said Apple does not stand to profit much from the split and said it is about the same as its agreement for the record companies on iTunes.

Stolarz said the one drawback is that that the kit does not allow developers to create hardware applications, such as an accessory that could attach to the iPhone and turn it into a Global Positioning System machine.

But the release of the kit is expected to open the iPhone ecosystem and make it more accessible than before. "This is the next PC," said John Doerr, a partner at Kleiner Perkins. "This is the future."

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